4/17/2009 @ 7:30AM

Back Talk

Good story on the fly-fishing legend Tom Morgan [by Monte Burke, December 2008]. His wife [Gerri Carlson] sounds like a saint. What an absolutely aggravating illness–to have full mental capacity and watch physical skills diminish. It takes a powerful mind to battle through something like that. You did an excellent job of describing the “romantic dance” of fly casting. Nice work.

Steve Snyders

Missoula, MT

Thank you for the recent ForbesLife article on Tom Morgan. I enjoyed the story very much and was pleased to see the accuracy with which you explained Mr. Morgan’s illness. I have shared the article with our staff and administration.

Kasey Minnis

Director of Operations

Multiple Sclerosis Foundation

Fort Lauderdale, FL

We wanted to share a comment on the writer Monte Burke, the photographer Rob Howard, and their skillful profile of craftsman Tom Morgan.

Multiple sclerosis is sudden. It strikes people in the prime of their life–executives, mothers, sportsmen, athletes–without discrimination. It advances or relapses on its own timetable. But although MS can have a profound effect on a person’s mobility, and often on their livelihood, it is neither a death sentence nor a reason for someone to give up any of the things they love, as Mr. Morgan proves. We commend him and his wife for their accomplishments, as well as Mr. Burke and Mr. Howard for making those the subject of the article, rather than the limitations that are posed by MS.

Our organization serves as a free national resource designed to help people with MS maintain their quality of life. You can find more information about us and our mission by visiting our Web site, which is www.msfocus.org.

Jules Kuperberg

Co-Executive Director

Multiple Sclerosis Foundation

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Tom Morgan and Gerri Carlson sound like an amazing couple. And they produce some impressive rods. I read the story about them and really enjoyed it. My wife and I have a loved one who has MS. While his is not currently so debilitating, it added a personal note to your article for us.

Chris Ziebarth

Chicago, IL

I read your story about Tom Morgan, appropriately enough, over the Thanksgiving weekend. It was very powerful stuff–and sensitively done. I was truly touched.

Robert Rich, Jr.

Chairman

Rich Products

Islamorada, FL

Just for Laughs

Although I like the look of the revamped magazine and think that celebrating the Era of Connoisseurship holds promise, I hope you won’t forget one thing that has made ForbesLife such a pleasure to read: mainly, the fun and often laugh-out-loud-funny stories written by the likes of Christopher Buckley.

It was nice to see your informative article on tuxedos [Bespoke Man, "Tuxedo Junction," December 2008]. I am not someone you’d ever describe as a fashion nut, though I do try to look presentable at work and elsewhere. I don’t go to that many black-tie parties but when I do, it always strikes me that the women show up in a variety of colors and styles. We guys, on the other hand, look like a bunch of penguins from the same family.

I’m glad there are some alternatives to the same old, same old. It’s not all my taste, but I might now be inclined to at least try a tie that isn’t just black. The burnt-orange one in your photo was pretty cool.

J. Brown

New York, NY

Correction

In March’s ForbesLife, the price of the presidential suite at the Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C., was listed as $8,000 per night. The correct rate is $10,000 per night. ForbesLife regrets the error.

To share your thoughts about ForbesLife, e-mail comments to gwalther@forbes.com.